Roy Gilles record at Apparel Music Secret show in Florence in February.

The last podcast of the Micro_MUTEK.ES series showcases Argentina’s DILO (aka Franco di Lorenzo), a producer who has released music on European labels such as Hope Central, Lessizmore, Soma, and [a]pendics.shuffle (under his alias Cascabel Gentz). Dilo is also responsible for the label Igloo Records, which has released material from the likes of Pinkler Ismael, From Karaoke To Stardom and himself, this time as another one of his projects, Elephant Pixel.

DILO is one of those artists currently residing in Berlin, but with very little time to play master of the house because of his constant travels to Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia or Russia. His sets are based on a direct, clean and skeletal techno sound, with the shapes and colors that are characteristic of his Latin American roots gaining ground in cold and grey Berlin. This sound has begun to take on new vigour with his debut album, Ethereal.

This podcast showcases some of his exclusive tracks taken from his upcoming album, and offers a taste of what we can expect from his show at Nocturne 2 on February 9^th with Luomo and Venezuela’s DJ Moreon.

For his podcast Jeremy sent us this very club-friendly mix composed of a dozen killer tracks that summarize well what Dumb-Unit does the best: it has bass, it’s dark and it has a lot of Avatism stuff in it, just enough and nothing more.

From the early days of his hugely successful, uncompromising techno ‘Black Series’ on Glimpse Recordings, through to the groove-laden tech house of ‘Drifting’ on Planet E and, later, fully pursuing the deep and organic take on house via his Crosstown Rebels singles and album – this musical range has gained him the respect of his peers and culminated in two successive nominations in DJ Magazine’s prestigious ‘Best British Producer’ category.

Not that his recognition is purely domestic. As a touring act, the Glimpse live show has really found its mark after the tipping point of the ‘Runner’ LP on Crosstown Rebels in 2010. Already a regular in South America as well as Japan (in part due to a loyal following at Tokyo’s club-of-the-future Womb) the subsequent live tour powered him into new territories such as Australia and North America, as well as European clubbing meccas such as Panorama Bar, Tenax, Fabric, Cocoon and Tresor. A specific highlight in his career came in summer 2010 when an epic run of gigs at Space Ibiza’s Kehakuma party culminated in him being invited to close the evening on the Flight Area stage (outdoor Car Park) at the Space Closing fiesta. As he wrapped up the show, in front of a 5,000 strong crowd, he joined an elite crew containing literally the biggest names in the history of dance music.

With 2011 coming to an end, Glimpse steps into 2012 favourably returning to two of his former label collaborators. November saw him teaming up on Leftroom with regular collaborator Martin Dawson for ‘Wildlife’, which the label is calling one of their biggest releases yet. A highly sought after eruption of impelling house and a straight up dance floor killer, ‘Wildlife’ is yet another milestone release.

‘Fat Controller’ sees Glimpse make a welcome return to an on-point Hypercolour in early 2012 and, for his premier outing on Catz ‘n Dogz’ Pet Recordings, ‘Our Friends Electric’, Glimpse uses his own vocals with remarkable results on another extremely catchy single.

Capable of taking his sound in all the directions under the spectrum, owing to an unyielding drive to reinvent himself, only Glimpse knows what the future holds in store.

Also finished is a 2 Track ep for the fresh Berlin label Nsyde run by Richard Zepezauer. The label has earned a lot praise so far with releases by Daso and Kevin Reynolds.
For the ever growing Greta Cottage Workshop comes another vinyl only release as follow up to his highly acclaimed limited 10″ under the Mudkid moniker.

Boris Werner Known as an enfant terrible, a radiant light in every after hour and for his mercy less productions; Boris Werner is a thrillseeker of his generation. The Amsterdam based bad boy that speaks his mind and let’s this reflect in his music making. Living weekend to weekend end-on-end and doing all kinds of musical escapades in between, this rockstar’s music got widely recognized in this international scene we call house music. And over the last years he has created quite a stir for himself. 2010 already marks his first decade of electronic music, turning his love for music into a hefty fulltime lifestyle.

It was over ten years ago that Boris got bitten by the house bug when friends first took him to now legendry Mazzo (RIP) in his hometown. And as the story goes for many alike: he got hooked. Being asked to co-host the MONO events with longtime friends Lauhaus and Aron Friedman in 2002. Boris quickly became a regular in Amsterdam nightlife. Never to shy away from any opportunity to have his say behind the decks, he has played more illegal raves then there are any. Cultivating him to the undisputed afterhour dj in his hometown. Having played alongside countless of innovators and inspirators in clubs, parks and/or tunnels, Boris rose to the occasion time and time again. With surgical like precision pain stakingly selecting his records and setting the right party vibe. Flash forward to 2005; after alot of playing, partying and soulsearching this ruffian made his first steps into producing with partner in crime Lauhaus.

They landed their first release in 2007 (Matchmaker / Legeres [Remote Area]) and things really started taking off. Their tracks got licensed for multiple mixcompilations and it definitely wouldn’t be the last time. Boris’ first solo EP would be a doublepack (No Day Like Monday EP) which sold out in a heartbeat. Remixes and cooperations followed on many acclaimed labels such as Moon Harbour, Supplement Facts, Rush Hour, Welcome to Masomenos , Soweso and many others. It skyrocketed Boris into playing most venues throughout Holland and abroad. Places and events like Club 11 (r.i.p.), Studio 80, Rex, Voltt, 5 days Off, Tenax, Panoramabar, T/bar, Awakenings, Welcome To The Future, Sonne Mond und Sterne, WMC, Trouw, Sonar, ADE and closing the Lowlands Festival are only just to name a few. This mile stone year saw Boris also being picked up by the crew of Circo Loco boosting him into Ibiza’s DC-10 several times. And through getting the faith of magnificent club Trouw (Amsterdam) Mr. Werner is now proud host of his own club night; Late Night Society.

Together with William Kouam Djoko he invites acts and DJ’s that got their attention making for defty nights of quality clubbing. Boris Werner, forever young at heart. A charismatic pillar of house, he will keep, pushing dance floors and promotors to fall under his spell with his enthusiasm and dedication to party. Not as a surprise cause people know when quality hits them in the face when he plays his sound filled with lush grooves, thick bass lines and subtle melodies.. From his first decade up to many more to follow there is no end in sight, so keep a close eye and your ear to the streets. Keep a line open for your pusher man.

LOCO DICE UNDER 300 TOUR – Chapter 2

12 cities. 12 shows. 300 limited tickets.

Loco Dice, international artist and Desolat label owner, has had a massive year in 2011, playing some of the most renowned clubs and festivals in the world.
At the beginning of 2012 Loco Dice is again set to return not only to his artistic roots, but also to a fundament of dance culture that we love – small, intimate clubs with a capacity of 300 or less.

It’s been a while since the first Under 300 Tour in 2009, which led Loco Dice to 14 cities playing exclusive extended sets for ecstatic crowds.

The forthcoming UNDER 300 TOUR in January and February 2012 pays tribute not only to vinyl, small lively dance floors, musical freedom and curiosity, but first and foremost to the resident DJ as someone who runs the engine room of creativity, educates and shapes the taste of many.

The TOUR is hosted by a resident DJ in each city. Loco Dice along with his bag full of vinyl is a guest – a curious one, who will not only play in a traditional way, (two turntables and a mic), showing musical facets that are out of place on big stages, but who’ll also use his microphone to interview and introduce each local host, giving the world far beyond the intimacy of a club an insight into UNDER 300.

More information at: http://under300.net

Dates

20.01 – Zurich @ Giesserei with Manon
21.01 – Rotterdam @Toffler with Michel de Hey and Jeff Moore
22.01 – Amsterdam @ Trouw with Boris Werner
26.01 – Turin @ Secret location with Lorenzo LSP
27.01 – Rome @ Animal Social Club with Giancarlino
02.02 – Madrid @ Mondo, ­with Eduardo De La Calle
04.02 – Barcelona @ Suite 191 pres. by RAUM with Pablo Bolivar
10.02 – Copenhagen @ Culture Box with Martinez
11.02 – Paris pres. by We Love Art @ Petit Bain with Alex & Laetitia
12.02 – Düsseldorf @ Salon des Amateurs ­ with Patrick Specke, Pulshar “live” and Vladimir Ivkovic
16.02 – Brussels­ @ Woodstrasse with Ramon Tapia
18.02 – London @ Secret Location with Enzo Sigarusa

Soul Clap is Elyte and Cynce who bring to us their sonic adventures around the universe. Before their debut gig this Friday 20 Jan at Zouk‘s Velvet Underground in Singapore, the Berlin duo blesses us with a mini interview and this mix live from Miami’s The Electric Pickle. Listen during odd hours, after hours, sometime out of time and cling onto the vibe for a spaceship ride with a grin.

Click here more for more info about Soul Clap @ Velvet underground | 20 Jan 2012

Interview

WHEN, WHERE AND HOW WAS THIS MIX RECORDED?

This set was recorded in July 2011 at our residency at the Electric Pickle in Miami. We always use 2 turntables and 2 cdjs when we perform. Lots of vinyl, no computers!

WAS THERE ANY PARTICULAR IDEA IN MIND WHEN RECORDING IT?

We’ve basically been resident DJs at the Pickle for over a year so it really feels like home when we play there. This set was in the middle of the summer so we played a bunch of sweaty, sticky jams and of course tried to go on a journey…

WHAT COMES TO MIND WHEN YOU THINK OF SINGAPORE?

Islands, rain forests and durians. Oh and we heard its really clean!

WHAT CAN WE LOOK FORWARD TO FOR YOUR SET IN SINGAPORE?

WILL IT BE 6 HOURS?

We play as long they let us play

HAS THIS YEAR BEEN OFF TO A GOOD START? WHAT’S HAPPENING?

2012 has been great so far. From beach parties at BPM festival in Mexico to friends’ weddings we’ve had some fun, but mostly been chilling at home in Miami. Singapore is where we really kick off our musical year!

Dani Casarano was born in Morges, by Lake Geneva, near Lausanne, to Italian parents. At 12 years old, he was absorbing hip-hop and acid jazz. He also soaked in the sounds that resounded at home, which featured, among others, Italian composer Ennio Morricone. Taking his destiny into his own hands, at just 14, Dani was inspired by house music and invested in Technics turntables. He also took guitar lessons and learnt musical notation. After leaving school, which he attended with Luciano, he decided to take the trip of a lifetime. The year was 1997 and the country he chose, after receiving an invitation from long-time compadre Luciano, was Chile. Magical, metaphysical, and volcanic, it was not unlike the rolling grooves that he loved and played. And it was here that he first met Ricardo Villalobos, Dandy Jack and Argenis Brito.

Dani soon began making his own productions, a servant to a universal groove. Always approaching electronic music with organic and acoustic elements. Always adapting to new places, faces, ideas and seasonal flavours. Yet always preserving the story and soul of the dance, the foundations of the scene. His debut was a CD album entitled In Transit 8 Track, which he wrote and produced under the alias Tony Mass, released on South American label Sum Records. He also contributed a single called ‘Break Sense’ to the Love Parade Santiago – Chile 2005 compilation on BMG. His first track to land on his beloved vinyl was ‘Oiseaux Sans Ailes’, produced with Ernesto Albacete (Ernie), which came out on Spanish label Deep Explorer in 2006. He then produced the techy, synth-heavy ‘El Zapo Hablo’; ‘the toad speaks’ being a Chilean expression for when everyone knows a secret about you. This was released in 2006 on Germany’s Connaisseur Supérieur, thereby the ‘undisclosed’ became self-evident: the man may be modest but his music was now speaking for itself.

Besides solo work, Dani regularly forms a DJ/production partnership with Chile’s Felipe Valenzuela. They are akin to brothers, born just one day apart, and have signed music to such labels as, among others, Bond, Recycle Records, and Metroline, where they were remixed by Oslo Records’ boss Nekes, producing lush funky sounds with earthy Latin American and African undertones – global dance music – that has impacted on heads, from John Digweed to Ben Watt to Nick Curly. Plus, as we speed towards 2010, there’s a boatload of fresh material on the horizon. For example, their ‘Santi EP’ will break on Fumakilla, and a remix will drop for M.in on Berlin-based Waldliebe Musik as well as for Iranzo Lasia on Italy’s Frequenza Limited. Meanwhile, Dani looks forward to kick-starting a second artist album, and even has an ambition to create film soundtracks. He will also continue to build upon his DJing, having already played everywhere from Ibizan superclubs (Pacha, Privilege and Space) to Berlin’s underground (Club der Visionaere) to Latin American hotspots (including D-Edge and Mint) and festivals (such as Creamfields and South American Music Conference (SAMC)).

Yes. In his hands, he’s got history, the future, yesterday and tomorrow. Dani Casarano: someone you’re sure to hear of much more from now on – and rightly so!

Pt.1 http://www.beatport.com/release/home-remixes-pt-1/844193
Pt.2 http://www.beatport.com/release/home-remixes-pt-2/851204

Released by: Get Physical Music 
Release date: Dec 5, 2011

About

There is an air of mystery shrouding the true meaning behind the acronym of M.A.N.D.Y., an alias which embodies the mutual talents of childhood friends Philipp Jung and Patrick Bodmer. The pair readily indulge this curiosity by toying with various clever possibilities, including Me AND You, but the truth is likely a giggle under each of their talented breaths.P and P have carved a unique niche in electronic music by consistently selecting productions that induce their audience into a somatic frenzy.On the platform of their aptly titled Get Physical label, M.A.N.D.Y. has achieved massive success in colluding to create music that simply makes bodies move. Their foot stamping, hair flying passion is the ultimate expression of a dance music phenomenon for many years.

Interview

Good to meet you Burnski. Can you describe your past year for those who haven’t been able to keep up with it all?
The past year was a good one and I loved it. I played out a lot and got to see some nice places and meet some good people. The highlights where playing in Japan for the first time, touring Australia and South America again and of course the fabric gig in May.

What have been some of the biggest highs and lows?
The highs of the last year would be seeing so many mates do so well. There are a lot of my friends that are really breaking through – people I have known for years that have worked really hard and it’s great to see them all doing well in being creative and loving it. It probably is my main source of inspiration to see everyone doing so well and really loving what they do.

There were no real lows I can think of but I found myself in a pretty draining situation lately. Me and my mate Subb-an had a gig together and we were both one the same flight. He had Speedy Boarding and I didn’t, so we decided to draw ‘SB’ on my ticket so it looked like I did too, so we could skip the huge queue. We skipped to the front and he got past, but they noticed we had forged mine. There was a drama after that. They didn’t let me on the flight in the end and I had to pay a huge amount for a new flight. I also had to wait hours for the next one and I only just made the gig. It was pretty grim.

We heard you re-located to Berlin, how’s life treating you there and the new studio?
It’s really good. I moved here in July after living in London only a few months. Due to some circumstances me and my mate had to move out of the flat I was in (the landlord’s son was moving into our flat pretty much with hardly any notice). I was planning on getting a place somewhere in London again. It sounds a bit cheesy saying this, but it was after going to the DC10 opening I felt so inspired that when I came back to London I was just like “Fuck this, I can do anything”, haha. I wanted to get right out my comfort zone after that and push myself in a lot of ways, so I was just like “Right, I am going to do it”. I was on a mission after coming back from Ibiza. I had always wanted to move to Berlin for a bit, and it was the perfect time. I love coming back here after the weekend too – it totally feels like home.

You’ve released EPs on labels, 2020 Vision to Hot Creations and Dessous earlier this year. What were some of greatest lessons you learnt working for these different imprints?
I think the Hot Creations thing was a good lesson working with another producer. The main track ended up appealing to a wider audience than my previous work I think and was a big track that got a lot of attention. It made me realise its good to take risks sometimes and try new things.

You layed down heavy-duty remixes for Kris Wadsworth on One Records and Robert Owens, on Back to Basics this year. How did these come about and what do you enjoy most about getting to remix tracks such as theirs?
The One Records remixes I really enjoyed doing. The label is run by mates so I wanted to make something I was really feeling. I made two remixes in the end. The guys also do party’s called Below, which is held in the courtyard of the rainbow pub in Birmingham. I made one remix with that venue in mind and one more for the after party, which always follows it. I also loved doing the remix for The Blessed feat. Robert Owens too. It’s coming on Back to Basics which is my residency in Leeds. It’s quite a after party kind of track.

There’s a queue of people wanting to know some of your remix tips?
With a remix I always just pick the sounds out the original I know will work, and what I want to include. I play around with them and then work in my sounds on top, with new beats and a bassline. The tip I would give is, try a few versions, as I never end up using the first idea I get down. I usually change basslines a few times in the track, and am always looking at improving it as I work.

How would you describe your musical style and in what areas would you like it to develop over the future. Are there still sounds your still yet to explore?
I would say my sound usually falls into everything between disco, house and techno. I’d like to use all my influences over the years in my work. There are loads yet I want to do as a musician. I really enjoy working with vocals so I am going to do that more this year. It’s just much more fun to keep pushing yourself rather than repeating what you’ve done over and over again.

How are you looking forward to playing air london’s Room Three takeover next month with Anthea & Alex Celler? What’s going to make this night special for house music lovers?
I think what will make it special is a good variation of music between us, and getting a good vibe going in the room. I think we all got some good records in our collection and I’m really looking forward to be back playing fabric.

Can you tell us about the mix you’ve done for us? How was it made and what are some of your favorite tracks on it?
I recorded the mix here in Berlin, and it includes both old and new music. I tend to play a lot of old records in my sets, and have included a few of my favourites here also. There are a few of my own edits of old tracks, and also some new music from me. I wanted to keep the mix accessible at an after party, or something you would listen to before you go out. One of my favourite records is probably the Dan Ghenacia remix of ‘Wasting My Time’ on Real Tone. That was a real standout track of last year for me.

If you could look into a crystal ball for 2012 what major developments do you see for the burgeoning house scene and what artists have you got your eye on?
I really like this guy from Paris called Djebali. He has a label called Djebali Records and he is making some great stuff and is a really nice guy, too. I think he will have a very good year. He isn’t totally routed to one style, which I like, and it’s always good to hear his new stuff as it could be a slow house track, or peak time. To be honest I think it’s going to be a really good year for all of the Paris guys, there are so many great DJ and producers there at the moment. I think Subb-an is going to do really well too. Also, I think the Bristol scene is rocking at the moment, doing some really good stuff with some new producers, so I think a few more will pop out from there. I think Just Jack in Bristol should be proud to as they have really pushed house since a good 5/6 years and I really think it’s contributing to this.

What’s in the pipeline for 2012?
Early next year I have music coming on Real Tone, Culprit, One Records and Back to Basics. There’s a new collaboration with my good mate M A N I K from NYC also.

Finally, do you have any NY resolutions?
My new Year resolution is to push myself more musically and try new things. I had a funny year with changing flat like 3 times and was without a studio for a good 3/4 months and after a really busy summer, I just feel like I have got it all back setup in Berlin now so really looking forward to working hard in next few months in the studio and enjoying it.

WHERE WHEN AND HOW WAS THIS MIX RECORDED?

I recorded this mix in my “Traumraum” studio in southern germany. I work with Traktor and Timecode-Vinyls. I play records since 1996, so i still need the vinyl-feeling in my hands ;-)

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE MIX?

The mix shows the kind of music i love and play in clubs where people like innovative sound. Deep and hypnotic tracks from different genres such as deep house and dub techno.

TOP 3 WEAPONS IN THE BAG?

Mathew Jonson – Dayz [Crosstwon Rebels]
Marc DePulse – Lessons In Dub [Ostwind]
Patrick Zigon – Black Out feat. Paulo Olarte (Himan Remix) [Danza Macabra]

WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR MUSICAL INFLUENCES?

EVER THOUGHT OF MOVING TO BERLIN?

Yeah sure i thought about it. A few years ago i’ve been pretty sure to move there. But i love the place where i’m living. Constance is a small beautiful city near to switzerland and austria, with a big beautiful lake. It’s an important inspiration for me, so at the moment there is no need to move there.

WHAT ARE SOME FUTURE PROJECTS OF YOURS WE CAN LOOK FORWARD TO?

2011 i started some interesting projects and collaborations. Next releases are the amazing second remix pack of my album “The Alpha State” and a collaboration EP on Tanzbar Musik called “With A Bigly Help Of My Friends EP” with Martin Eyerer, Todd Bodine, Louis Osbourne etc. 2012 i will start my label and will tour the globe, so enough things to do ;-)

After finishing off 2011 with their 4th in their series of annual compilations, ‘Cubists Volume Four’, Saytek and co. are set to enter 2012 with a bang taking over Room Three for our first party of the year joining Terry Francis and inviting their own crew of artists.

And so, today we officially kick off the new year on our blog with a freshly recorded live set from Saytek, provided to give you all a taste of the Cubism sound. Alongside that we get stuck into the ins and outs of the producer’s story and his hard-earned success.

Interview

Hey Joseph to start us off can you introduce yourself to our readers?
Hello I am Joseph Keevill (AKA Saytek) and I will be performing live for you guys on the 7th of Jan in room 3 representing Cubism Records. Hope you are all well – had a great Christmas and have recovered from NYE nicely!

How long have you been performing and making music under the name Saytek?
I released my first 12″ under the Saytek pseudonym around 10 years ago on Justin Drakes console recordings and I have been performing live as Saytek for about 7 years.

How did you start out getting involved with music?
Well I was a geeky kid who was interested in programming computers and for some reason I got interested in sound and early music technology at the age of 10. I was making bleeps on a computer and using a Tandy mixer, a Jen synth and a Roland TR606 drum machine to make music of sorts, recording my mum singing. I was totally obsessed with sound and manipulating it. When I was about 13 a friend introduced me to his older brother’s acid house collection, Detroit techno and rave tapes I really loved this sound before I had even set foot in a club and was listening to it obsessively, so when I was old enough to blag my way in I was out clubbing every weekend, I totally immersed my self in the scene and all its trappings. I decided to study sound engineering and devote my life to music I spent my later teenage years putting on warehouse parties in London before working as a technician in clubs like Home and The End … it was here I made connections to sign my first record.

And who or what were your first influences – back when you started and also present day?
My influences are vast and wide; when I was younger my dad listened to classical, Jazz and 60’s rock. When I found my own tastes I was into Detroit techno, Acid, dub, 90s ambient and experimental music like Aphex twin and Square Pusher, it was when working at clubs I really discovered the underground house sound of the time which was tribal, electronic and tech house it was really fresh and was the perfect antidote to the big room trance by numbers sound that dominated the super clubs then, I suppose all these influences remain in my music today, rather than following the latest trends I like to blend what I like from today’s sounds with music influenced by my long love affair with electronic music. When I make music I tend to go with the feeling, I really like to put my soul into it.

You come across as a real hard worker, someone who’s adapted to today’s direct to fan engagement – it’s something some artists embrace and others outright reject – what would you say to them?
I do work very hard, mainly creating music, but also on self-promotion. As a live artist its really one of the only avenues I can take to get my live sets out there, I have made live albums in the past for the Zoo Project which did really well, but today I believe there is only a limited market for CD’s and paid downloads. I like the opportunities that the digital age present and now I can reach people all over the world, this is particularly good for my live stuff as it normally gets released as a podcast which then I release on my soundcloud and it then goes viral. I am really not to bothered by other peoples opinions on this as I am just trying to make a living from what I love and this way I can reach my own fan base without compromising my integrity as an artist.

How did you first hit it off with Cubism?
I met Mark (Cubism head honcho) when we where playing at an amazing underground party in a 16th century fort in Kent, at the time he was running Cubism with Tony Thomas, we just clicked and started chatting music, we have since become very good friends. I had been focusing on my live shows for a few years making live albums for the Zoo Project, so had loads of unreleased tracks still in there raw live format so we decided to start a series of E.Ps reworking my live material into DJ friendly tracks … then came the Saytek “Reworked” album, it turned out we where on the phone for hours everyday and Mark and me decided to run the Label together.

In a nutshell – what is it about Cubism that makes it different?
It’s all about passion not fashion we both really love the music and the scene and Cubism is a labour of that love!

You’re exclusively a live artist – was this something you grew into from producing/ DJing or was it always the way for you to be from the start?
I have never DJ’d and was producing records back in the days when people were selling thousands and thousands of pieces of vinyl. I watched the bottom fall out of this industry and at the time Ableton had just come out. I had always enjoyed jamming in the studio with my hardware, so I decided to do a live show. It was really a dream come true using Ableton synced up to my favourite hardware and that’s the same today.
What do you do to keep the sets fresh each time, there’s a hell of a lot of work that goes into preparing a live set?
Well my shows are improvised so will never sound exactly the same twice, I arrange, mute and unmute patterns, trigger samples, tweak filters and effects and mix all in real-time. Also I like to make 2 new full one-hour live sets a year and in between this I am tweaking creating new patterns and loops constantly. I also keep all my patterns on the MC909 and 5 hours of material on Ableton so I have a vast library of material I can draw from during a performance

Where did you take it in 2011? What special experiences stand out?
Its been an incredible year for me I have taken the live show across the UK with a schedule that has meant I have been travelling most weekend amazing headline slots at Mint Club, Sankeys, Cargo, Snafu in Aberdeen a swell as loads of wicked underground gigs across the country, In terms of international gigs I have done the amazing Amnesia Milan, a wicked warehouse party in Frankfurt as well as great shows in France, Belgium, Poland and beyond. In terms of releases I have released reworked live material as an album and E.Ps on Cubism as well as releases on Lucidflow, Wiggle I am really amazed by the support for my records with everyone from Richie Hawtin to Seth Troxler playing my tracks.

And finally, what’re your big and bold plans for 2012?
Just to keep making, performing and releasing music from heart.

Length: 00:55:27
Size: 127 MB
Format: MP3 Stereo 44kHz 320Kbps

Interview

Hi Takushi Yoshida great to have you here on EBW. 
Shall we start with a small introduction of your background in DJing?
I have been Djing since 2006 in Yokohama. Initially, I did not have any DJ friends and so a long time was required to organize the first party in Tokyo. It was bitter days. Those were bitter days. That is why I’m always keen to share the chance to spin for newcomers. Recently, I moved my centre for DJ-ing from Tokyo to Singapore.

Please describe how and where this current mix was recorded?
Mixier:Xone:92+Traktor Scrach Pro2+Traktor control x1
This mix was recorded live at my house with the finest USB Cable “Continental 5S(OYAIDE)”. Sometimes I heard that Data file music is not clearer and less fun than Vinyl. When I went back to Japan in Nov. OYAIDE has released it. Then tried it. I felt this cable pave the new stage for All PC DJ. So, I choose Traktor with it for this mix.

So what’s the idea/inspiration behind the mix?
The main idea behind the EBW Podcast is “Warmth of the body”. The ideas include Evanescence, Vital energy, and Tact in the background. Usually, I prefer more easy-listening to dance tracks, But I didn’t use it to appear Tacit Knowledge.

What new ideas or plans do you have going forward?
As I mentioned, just moved my base from Tokyo. Fortunately, I’ve already encountered with lots of DJs in SG. I have also started to spin with multinational crew at Full Circle (@En bar).

If tomorrow you are lost on a deserted island, what will be the 3 songs you will bring with you?

Incognito – Out of the storm (Carl Craig Planet E Special Mix)

Martin Dawson – Soft Synth (Original Mix)

Norah Jones – Sunrise (Radio Slave Mix)

Tells us a bit about who you are and what you do for Smallville Records on a day-to-day basis.

Smallville is run by Julius Steinhoff and Just von Ahlefeld, also known as Smallpeople, and Pete Kersten, also known as Lawrence. Basically the Smallpeople run the everyday life at the Smallville record store: we sit in the shop to sell records, do the orders at the distributors, plan our parties and label projects from the store and pack orders from our online store. The shop is a place to hang out and meet people, to listen to and talk about music or start a track. But around Smallville is also a great gang of people who are part of it, working and helping out. It’s really a good bunch of people, like Stefan Marx, who is responsible for the complete visual side of Smallville; Jacques from Smallville Paris, who lives in Hamburg for some years now; Richard aka RVDS, who is running It’s and releasing good music, recently on Laid; Wiebke (aka Elin), who runs the party series Dear in Hamburg, Christian (aka Blessing) works in the store with us plus does the artwork for Laid; Helena Hauff is also working sometimes and is a great DJ. It also includes people like Christopher Rau and Tilman tausendfreund, who are friends and also help out if needed; and last but not least Stella, who lives in Berlin now but opened the store with us in 2005 and is a initiator and member since the very first thought about the store.

How did the Smallville record shop come about? When did you branch out with the Paris shop? And what spurred you to start releasing records?

Actually we just wanted a good spot in Hamburg, a shop and hangout. We didn’t really think about whether it would work or not, more just did it. And it worked, we’re doing good — actually better then ever before now. After six years of doing the shop, we know a bit more how everything works. We cannot offer every record that is out there and we don’t want to. We would rather take a large number of one record that we believe in to offer it in the store for a long time. We just made two people really happy a minute ago, because we still had Workshop 9.2 on stock. I guess it’s very good for the store to have a certain sound that we stand for and offer. It’s always the music we love the most, that we sell the most, even if it’s a wide range between deepest house and techno. But that is a good thing and a very important point for our good feeling in the store. The plan to release records and do a label, too, was there from the beginning — it just took a while to set up everything.

The Smallville shop in paris is run by Jacques who lives in Hamburg, but he’s doing the orders from here and visits Paris regularly. The Smallville shop there was originally initiated by Pantha Du Prince, who just stocked a lot of Dial stuff and some good records in a shop for clothes; and he found Jacques to help him out with the daily work in the shop. But meanwhile Smallville paris is integrated in another record store called ground Zero, which is cool. If you are in Paris, you should check it out at 23 Rue Sainte-Marthe, 75010 Paris — it’s nice and cosy.

For a while the label was very closely affiliated with Dial, to the point De:Bug felt it necessary to say “Smallville nicht Dial ist.” Was it difficult to establish the label as its own entity?

Well, actually not. Dial and Smallville are close together due to Pete, who co-owns both imprints, but Dial is 11 years old and smallville only six. The Smallville record store is kind of a Dial shop now, too, as we have the Dial/Laid warehouse in here. Maybe Dial and Smallville are like brother and sister in a way, but in the end still two different labels run by different people. We were not looking to divide it music-wise — this comes naturally — and it’s also natural that it’s still close together, working well with each other. But yeah, there are things in common — artists, sounds and everything — but mostly also the way we look at running a label: without any need to be functional or to fullfil any commercial purposes.

Smallville’s records are synonymous with the artwork of Stefan Marx. How was he first involved with the label and why was he chosen to visually represent the label?

Stefan is a fixed part of the Smallville family and a long-term friend of ours. He was working for Smallville since the very beginning — his first work was our small village logo and text. He’s responsible for every part of our visual body — record covers, party posters and the windows of our record store. Stella actually introduced us to Stefan before we opened the store and we were amazed by his stuff. Stefan also likes the freedom he has to do things. He also released on Smallville; Smallville 25 is from him, it’s called The Dead Sea, a three poster collection in a gatefold record sleeve. All in all, we believe it’s the best thing that could have happened to Smallville. we are very thankful to have him.

What is your A&R policy like these days? Are you mainly seeking out music from people close to you or are you open to demos? How did the Melchior & Pronsato record about?

The Melchior & Pronsato record actually just happened. We knew Bruno and Thomas before and Bruno once just told me they had two unreleased tracks and if I’d be interested to listen, as they like Smallville. Of course I was interested. We all liked the tracks, so we released them — it’s not a long story. But besides, that we must admit, we are not really listening to a lot of demos. There are just too many and unfortunately a lot of bad music that doesn’t fit at all. We got to listen to so much music every day and during the week, so we find it hard sometimes. Most of the Smallville releases came naturally through friendship and people around we knew and like or find interesting. For us it’s important to have a good feeling with the artist, too, and to be on the same wave length, doing it from the heart.

The label’s releases can generally be described as deep house music, but there have been some outliers — perhaps most notably STL’s “Silent State.” Are you looking for specific aesthetic choices to align with the Smallville sound or is it more a certain vibe you’re aiming for? Is there anything specific you won’t put out?

There is no certain aestethic we are looking for, or at least nothing that is verbalised. It’s really more the vibe, the feeling. If something fits Smallville, we will realize it quite fast.

Smallville has been around since 2006, and obviously the musical climate in house has changed a lot since then. How much do you feel the need — or even pressure — to respond to what’s popular at the moment or that year?

We don’t feel the need to respond to anything. I guess that’s important. Of course we are influenced in a way by what is around because we go to parties, clubs, places and cities, and play a lot, so that’s an influence. But not in a way to react on something “popular.”

How much input does the artists themselves have in the final product?

You mean the artwork? It is always an important step to visit Stefan Marx in his studio and to have a look at his works. After that the process comes naturally as there is a lot of inspiring stuff at Stefan’s studio. So artists can definitely take part in the process as long as they don’t want a surprise.

What is one of your favorite releases on Smallville? Why?

It’s a good feeling that we are still feeling all the releases, from the beginning until now. Standouts in terms of the label might have been the album by Move D & Benjamin Brunn, as it was out first album on Smallville. It’s really a timeless piece of music and we got a lot of so nice feedback from around the world. That was amazing to realize and it still makes us happy to see it on Smallville. We won’t forget when we first listened to it in the store. And the same with the “Silent State” track. This also got so much love from so many different camps. I still carrying it in my case wherever I play.

What are some labels, past and present, that have influenced how Smallville is run, and why?

Dial, Emphasis Recordings and FXHE! The first Omar-S records on FXHE were just coming out when we opened the record shop. We loved them a lot and also invited Omar-S to play in Hamburg a short while after. There are a lot of timeless tracks on these labels. Emphasis is the label from Steven Tang. Every record is great and these are always a good hint for people digging for records in the store. We bought a lot of these, so we can offer them as long as possible. Steven was also guest at our Smallville party series and it was great to finally meet him.

Is there anyone Smallville wants to release who it has not yet released? What are your plans for 2012?

The release of a Steven Tang record would be something truly great for Smallville. We are big fans. As for 2012, we are working on a Smallpeople album, hopefully for the first half of 2012. There is some really good stuff in the pipeline for the Smallville label.

Dinky studied classical dance and piano since early age, moving later in life to a more modern approach of both, but was always marked by the discipline of the classically trained.
Born and raised in Santiago, Dinky is a leading member of Chile’s second generation of electronic-music greats. Caught up in the musical revolution started by the likes of Ricardo Villalobos, Dandy Jack and Atom Heart in the early ’90s, she taught herself to mix records and was soon appearing at desert raves.
It was in New York, where she had moved in the mid ’90s to join the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, that Dinky’s career began to take off, as she immersed herself in the city’s vital underground scene of the day.
In her early twenties she turned out her first productions; within a couple of years she had release a spate of records in labels as Sonic Groove, Traum and Carpark, ranging from ambient, minimal house, techno to downcast new disco and electronic pop

In 2003, Dinky lit out for Berlin, a city that had captured her imagination nine years earlier during the heyday of E-Werk and Tresor.
It was a good move: by 2005 she would release the massive “Acid In My Fridge” for Sven Väth’s Cocoon imprint,
After that she has never stop touring, and has gone on to become a regular fixture across the continental scene, playing regularly in the most important clubs, like DC10, Fabric, Amnesia or Cocoon Club, while in Berlin she currently holds the honor of a Panorama Bar residency since 2004.

Even if you’ve never caught Dinky live, you can get a good sense for her unique style from her 3 mix CDs, 2007′s Get Lost 03 (Crosstown Rebels), 2008′s Dinky Mixes Horizontal (P-Vine) and Musica Libre (Cocoon 2010)
Folding phrases with origami grace, they present interwoven percussive grooves flecked with scraps of melody; they’re lush and dryly funky, jacking and introspective all at once.
Most important; she never limits herself to one style.

Dinky’s own productions work in similar ways. Whether working with samples, software, hardware or some combination of all three, It’s hard to think of another producer who has imbued the principals of minimalism with such soul.
In 2005 with the launch of her own Horizontal label, she created her own platform for artistic freedom.
In 2008, Dinky released her third album, May Be Later, for Berlin’s Vakant label which was highly acclaimed .The album got the attention of magazine Sound and Recording, the most important recording magazine in Germany, who wrote about its recording process
In 2009, fellow expat-in-Berlin Mathew Jonson invited her to join his Wagon Repair label, resulting in the four-track Lydian EP and her fourth full-length “Anemik” which got the 16th place in the” Albums of the year” on Resident Advisor
In 2010 Dinky joins Ostgut label, she was part of the 5th year anniversary compilation and is about to release a solo 12” due April 2011.

Dinky is also a multi instrumentalist and singer, she plays classical guitar, piano and is trained in classical singing.
During the last year she has focused in an electro acoustic project” Mother Of Seven” where she sings, writes lyrics and composes music.
On this project she has joined forces with her partner Matthew Styles (synths, production, mixing) and guest musicians; Miguel Toro (drums), Seth Josel (guitar) and Tyson Naylor (piano).

Crosstown Rebels ‘family’ member, DJ and producer Yallop gives us a look at things from the eye of the Crosstown storm.

Interview

You’re famously in possession of one of the most saliva-inducing array of analogue music equipment known to mankind. Can you remember the first piece you ever bought?

Danny Wolfers: Well there are a lot of people and studios that have way more stuff, I just have a bunch of synthesizers and I really don’t care if it’s analogue or digital. You know, people call everything that has a knob or slider analogue these days or probably even if it’s just hardware. Last week this guy told me he heard someone praising the great, real analogue sound of the AKAI MPC! The first piece I got was a Commodore AMIGA computer; that thing has been more important than any synthesizer I bought. With a copy of the OCTAMED sequencer and a sampler cartridge you basically had a pretty good sampler sequencer workstation. A lot of my stuff, like from The Nomium Syndrome EP to Beyond the Congo, under the names Gladio and Polarius, that’s all made on an Amiga 1200.

Are there pieces you particularly favor over others, that will more often end up being used on your tracks?

Sure, the Roland Alpha Juno 2 synthesizer’s a real workhorse and the Yamaha RM1X sequencer, a cheap synthesizer/drum-machine/sequencer box but one of the best hardware sequencers ever made.

Did you always have a fascination with technology, or did this gear-fetish come to you once you started making music?

I guess boys always like technological stuff, right?

Do any of the newer retro styled synths interest you, for the ease of not having to keep them serviced regularly?

Yeah, they are way more interesting than old ones because most of the time they can do a lot more and are way cheaper, too. Like those Microkorgs, I’ve got three of those. They are pretty battered and falling apart from all the live gigging but they can stand their ground against something like a Jupiter 8, exotic sound-wise.

Your Astro Unicorn Radio show ran for a good four years, though you stopped doing that this year. Why did you choose to stop doing the show?

It just took too much time to do it every week. I spent two or 3three days a week on a show and after doing it for a couple of years I just got fed up with it and wanted to do something fresh and new.

You had some great specials on the show over the years. What were some of your personal highlights?

I think the documentary type shows were the most interesting, I guess. With the background atmosphere sounds, the Lomax-esque This American Life-style docos on FrequeNC Records, when we went into the forests of the deep south, or the one with Ron Morelli when we are eating pastries in a Mexican restaurant in Queens while you hear the rain outside, stuff like that.

I’m interested in your Unreleased America 1976-1992compilation. How did you come across these tracks and was it hard to track down the artists to get them to license them?

I basically had nothing to do with it, it was all the work of Will Burnett aka DJ Speculator. He found all those guys and licensed it, I just released it. That guy could be like a detective librarian or something.

Also I’m interested in how the video for “Equestrian 707? came about. The Weta people are very high-profile and I’m assuming not very cheap.

There was this guy Adam Larkin from New Zealand and he was doing some movie stuff in Holland and wanted to do a video for me. I said sure and I made the “Equestrian 707 trac”k for the video especially. So like one or two years later I was touring in New Zealand and the video was finished and he showed it to me at the Weta HQ. I didn’t have to pay anything for it because he did it for fun. It’s a crazy video with green pastures, horses, paranormal investigation centers, demonic creatures, etc. Pretty cool. There are two versions, one more explicit and the TV version. I think the one on Youtube is the TV version. I think they showed it on the New Zealand news after an item about Dolphin Trainers if I remember correctly.

Trawling through your discography and website I gather that apart from an obvious predilection for nature and animals you have some love also for aircraft. Any favorites you’d like to share with us, and have you ever flown on some more exotic craft than your stock standard air-planes?

Yeah, my favorite plane is the Dehavilland DHC-6 Twin otter. I also like Russian air planes like the Tupolevs and Illushins. I know Tupolevs always crash but they just look so cool. Actually for that matter the Illushin IL86 and IL96 are considered the safest planes in the world and didn’t crash once.

You’ve been making music for quite a while now but even so, the sheer amount that you have released is incredibly impressive. How often are you in the studio?

Every day from early in the morning ’till late in the evening.

How do you generally go about writing your albums? Are they concept based or loosely based around a series of studio sessions?

Well I just make tracks, basically. I really hate the word concept album, that sounds so fucking cheesey and toe-bending prog rock style. I would rather call them exploitation albums, like “The Rise and Fall of Manual Noriega” or “Phalangius,” etc. There was just this story or movie in my head and those albums were made in a couple of days in one flow. Nowadays the albums are just a collection of tracks I guess.. I don’t know, man.

What sort of music do you like to listen to in your spare time?

I guess mostly old soul music and African stuff, Detroit house too, 90s ambient stuff like Mixmaster Morris and The Orb.

The press release you wrote to accompany your The TEAC Life album was not just brilliantly original but also refreshingly funny. Ever considered a side career writing press releases or reviews?

Sure, hit me up.

What was your decision behind giving the album away for free/donation?

From the moment I started making those tracks I knew I had to give it away for free. I dunno exactly why or what but I didn’t want the music to be imprisoned on a piece of vinyl, these tracks needed to be free in cyberspace.

Have the donations actually financed you buying some more crap synthesizers or fixing your Juno 106?

Yes, the people have been quite generous, thank you very much for that again. The Juno has been fixed and I bought some crap keyboards from the rest of the money like a Casio MT520 and MT540 and MT640 which I already did a few projects with. They are like really ghetto house machines, like the drums are even cheaper versions of the RZ1 (Steve Pointdexter’s “Work That MF” drums) and they have really lo-fi house organs and strings and stuff.

What can we expect from Danny Wolfers and his many aliases in the next year?

I really don’t know, I hope to further advance my music with something fresh and new. I am working on some new material that pushes it a little bit further. Also, I started a software company called Pacific Micro International, it will release mainly audio applications and paranormal software. One of the products is called PACIFIC TAPE STATION and this will simulate the artifacts of cassette tape on your tracks, you can really push it far and make it sound all fucked up and saturated like half of your track has been disintegrated from the tape. You can also do E.V.P Electronic Voice Phenomena stuff with it because its emulates Germanium crystal diodes. Another product will be the PACIFIC LAGOON SYNTHESIZER which will be an easy to use VST plug-in synthesizer which can emulate very raw and organic analogue synthesis.

since 1994, he has been the force behind his ever-evolving, kitsch-driven electro-pop outfit, flowchart (much of it alongside erin anderson a.k.a. fidget) — releasing dozens and dozens of albums, singles, eps and comp tracks on different labels from all over the world (like darla, morr music, instinct, endorphin, carrot top, and his own fuzzy box imprint), and flowchart was chosen as one of the “next 100” according to urb magazine in 1998. around this time he also was hooked on idm, techno and house, and he had already fallen in love with artists such as the orb, plastikman, king tubby and matthew herbert. he became intrigued by herbert’s use of field recordings and found sounds, and this recalled a similar feeling to what he gained from the music of spike jones.

as his love for minimal techno solidified by 1998, sean teamed up with jay haze and bjoern hartmann, and together they launched the tuning spork label. while making dance music with field recordings became more and more his shtick, sean grew close to kate iwanowicz (a.k.a. miskate) and sylvain takerkart (a.k.a. fusiphorm), and together they launched the foundsound and unfoundsound record labels. to this day, both labels continue to gain increasingly more recognition while offering a unique facet to the modern-day minimal scene.

throughout the years, sean also co-produced events in philadelphia and new york — hosting performances by magda, matthew dear, sammy dee, geoff white, jeff milligan, dan bell, dinky and many others. he also spent a lot of time writing part-time as a journalist for various music magazines and newspapers such as xlr8r and philadelphia city paper.

over recent years, sean’s production skills have been garnering respect among internationally renowned djs and labels alike, as reflected by his massive discography of releases and remixes for labels like musik krause, tuning spork, foundsound, mo’s ferry, microcosm, nummer, kickboxer, sender, alphahouse, roman-photo, level non-zero, mule musiq, hello? repeat, revolver and many others. this was accompanied by extensive world touring, and he was voted as one of the best live acts of 2006 in groove magazine. sean continues to spin and play live all around north america, south america, europe, japan, russia and elsewhere — including fabric in london, yellow in tokyo, rex club in paris and panorama bar in berlin. (from Pullproxy)

mobilee088 – Ray Okpara “Blues Me Blues” will be released on December 5th!

From production to his mixes, Monsieur Nopac is always looking for new sounds. He breaks them down and technically creates with energy and subtility. Adherent to minimalized and groovy music, he plays and unplays the sounds like a wizard, he overrides the bass lines with strenght and subtility. Your eyesight is focused on his fingers running on the potentiometers or on the records.
Since 4 years he’s resident with Lo (Black sheep trax, Relief) for the Mr C‘s famous party “Superfreq” in Calais.

He is also half of the experimental and ambiant duo ‘Slimonosaures’. His live creations with Spaï are an invitation to dream or mind errance. Their music is directly inspired by nature, time and space. Just close your eyes and leave yourself lifted by cosmic poetry…

Next Gigs

• 12/10/11 : Dj set @ Superfreq Calais with Lewis Ryder & Lo
• 12/17/11 : Slimonosaures & Perrine Tellier @ Mons (BE)

Releases

• Electrobo / Labo-music / 2000
• Like life / Labo-music / 2002
• Like life ep / Labo-music / 2002
• Green ep / Labo-music / 2004
• Just for Bitchies / Barfog / 2005
• V.A. So_project / Barfog / 2005
• V.A. Greed treatment program / Redevice / 2006
• V.A. Latino Reworked / Barfog / 2006
• V.A. Superconductivity / Kreatur musik / 2008
• V.A. Lakeside poetry / Haknam / 2008
• Cut Coda / Haknam / 2008
• Macgregor – Consuèco (Rmx) / Plastiq records / 2011

Upcoming release

• Bo’ & Slimonosaures / Explorations in Wonderland / Redevice (NL)
  4 tracks + a Falco Brocksieper remix (Sub-static) + video

Booking

bonopac[at]gmail.com

In the run up to Saturday, we caught up with Leonard Perret aka Le Loup to chat in depth about his first release on Wolf + Lamb, the burgeoning music scene in his native Paris and his close relationship with Seuil who he shares his Hold Youth project with. All of this, plus we get the down low on Le Loup’s next solo EP out on Eklo, his new slow mo/hip hop album with a Latin vibe and why Carl Craig’s ‘69’ live show has well and truly blown him away. Displaying his perfect marriage of deep house and techno, Le Loup has also been good enough to lay out a mix which we can’t get enough of.

Interview

What was the music scene like in Paris whilst growing up? How was it you got into DJing and producing?
It has always been difficult to promote parties outside of the official nightclubs in Paris. I remember going out when I was 15 or 16 to Rex Club or Pulp whilst my friends were going out to clubs to listen to commercial house and meet girls. When my uncle bought me two mk2 turntables, I started to collect vinyl straight away! After 2/3 years mixing in my room or at small bars, I understood I had to go through production to break through.

Actually let’s admit it; the scene is getting better and better. The new generation understands that it is time to do new things, especially outside of the clubs, and that’s a really good thing… The Twisted and Sundae crews are doing great job in Paris…even if we’re still far from London or Berlin.

You were a sound engineer student at the Institut Supérieur des Techniciens du Son in Paris. Tell us about this time in your life and how it has shaped you as an artist?
This time in my life was really important because I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with my life but the school gave me the opportunity to understand this environment, not only in the music business, but in cinema or radio as well! They gave me the tools I needed to do what I wanted to do.

You’ll be streaming your set live alongside BBF and Shaun Reeves. How are you looking forward to the night and what are your thoughts on live streaming in the digital age?
I’m super happy and impatient. It’s a big achievement for me to play fabric! I’m really interested in streaming live sets and I think that it is still underdeveloped… But on other hand it will never portray the atmosphere of the room, you have to be there!

What was the moment that first made you realise you had made it as a DJ/Producer… your first release was on Wolf + Lamb after all?
I think the first moment was my trip in New York to meet Zev & Gadi. I was alone and I knew nobody but I had the chance to meet so many good people in the business at the time and they helped me a lot to make the right decision. I started to realise that people could pay you not just to play some records but to pursue your passion, what can be more beautiful than this?

What top three records are sitting at the top of your crate?
Andrés – KDJ 20
Norm Talley – The Nu Tronik EP on Chisel
K-Hand – Project #1 on Acacia

Tell us about your relationship with Seuil. How did you guys meet and come to be such close friends?
We met at a party in Paris, it was in a school car park, really underground, Pier Bucci & Jan Krueger shared the bill too. After that we started to talk a lot and share some stuff, I realised quickly that we had a really close vision of music. Today he’s the guy I feel the closest to within the scene. We support each other for real.

What gave you the idea to start up a vinyl only label together, called Hold Youth. Does the label represent your similar music tastes of what you like to play and hear out?
We have two different backgrounds in music, he comes from minimal wave, he’s a big fan of Ricardo Villalobos and me it was more soul and hip hop. But we have really similar tastes in every kind of music, so we decided to mix it and see what happened. We started Hold Youth to release our music, but all kinds of music… from hip hop to house to techno. Music we can play in clubs or listen to at home…

If you could name one label that is truly authentic who’s would it be?
KDJ or Perlon.

What about your other projects as Childhood 87 and collaboration with Clement Meyer on Get The Curse Music. Can you tell us more about where we can catch them next, their musical vision and do you always like to keep so busy?
Unfortunately we have all been really busy the last few months and right now I’ll be focusing on my solo projects, but I’m sure we’ll have some new collaborations in the future! There is already some new childhood87 on the way…

What other projects have you got in store for this year and next?
I’ve done a remix for Joakim’s new album and my next solo EP is coming out on Eklo at the beginning of next year. I have a project to finish, a kind of slow mo/hip hop album with a Latin vibe, and of course the Hold Youth project – we have some new material to come, plus some remixes.

Finally, what has been exciting you most musically this year from the scene? What have you experienced that has truly blown you away?
I listen to old stuff most of the time but I would say the 69 live by Mr. Carl Craig! I’ve seen it in Detroit & Paris and he has blown me away twice. In house music I’m still into guys like Delano Smith, Norm Talley or Rick Wade…they’ve been killing it for years and it’s still fresh you know! They also have a really good hip hop scene with Blackmilk, Elzhi, Phatkat or Dj Dez aka Andrés for example.

I also support my scene from Paris, we have a lot of talented people like Seuil, Dop, Djebali, Varoslav, Vadim Svoboda, Dscrd, Douze, S3A, Yakine, Jef K to name a few. To finish I’m really into San Proper & Och music these days, watch out on Hold Youth….

James What studied music and sound engineering at the acclaimed LCM and SAE in London and released his initial solo productions in 2005. He has since gone on to make and release his solo and collaborative music with Dan Berkson on some of the industry’s most recognized labels such as Pokerflat, Crosstown Rebels, Murmur and Dessous. Chicago born Dan Berkson has been a professional musician since his mid teens and spent his early years as a successful keyboard player before studying at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. Numerous projects in jazz and funk saw him tour America and in the late 90′s Dan relocated to London to study music production. Dan has gone on to produce and release for labels such as on Exun, Crosstown Rebels, Hypercolour and Gourmet as a solo artist and alongside James.

Their combined and mutual influences of jazz, techno, house and funk find themselves layered to create a truly unique sound niche. An mix of raw classic house and the shrewd darkness of organic minimal and techno ride of each other’s core elements, resulting in a solid yet emotive signature. Stripped down and meticulously produced, the duo use laptops, synthesizers and drum machines as their key tools to create improvised tech house with a jazz edge. Elegantly arranged, classic yet head strong, Dan Berkson and James What’s cut’s are a firm staple in dj boxes worldwide.

The mix smells like sun and outdoor parties, and this is quite pleasant when the weather is starting to get cold, and when we are starting to freeze to death. The Midnight Perverts delivers us a nice mix of groove and darkness, heavy basslines and melodic synths. Dancefloor tailored.

Interview

How did you two meet and begin producing together?

This must have been in the early 90s when we met as young kids in a record shop. Soon we became colleagues in that same record shop and worked there for many years. During this period, 1994 to late 2006 (when the shop went bankrupt ), we were part of a collective of like-minded souls and co-hosted numerous parties. Carl Craig, I-F, Erol Alkan, The Glimmers, Freddy Fresh, Charles Webster and the DMX Krew were just a few names on the long list of great artists we as part of this collective had the pleasure to invite and DJ with.

Anecdote: It seems that Francesco Tristano met Carl Craig for the first time at one of our parties. Francesco and a friend of his were there (we never met them though), which is quite funny in retrospect because this must have been one of the last parties we organized, in autumn 2005. Carl played an excellent set (still with vinyl in those years) and showed not only to be a pro but also a very warm and friendly person.

Actually, we never really had the urge to produce and we were quite happy working in the record shop, being part of this party collective and DJing ourselves all those years. But after the shop went bankrupt the crew slowly but surely fell apart with people choosing different paths in life. We got together and soon came to the conclusion that we could never live without electronic music and decided we were ready and up for a next challenge, and so a new chapter began.

Do either of you make solo productions as well?

Yes, although not for official output. Maybe someday we might, who knows? And if so, we will always hook up and ask each other for an opinion or advise. However all this is not a serious topic for us as our main focus is Morning Factory.

Is there a division of labor between you two in the studio? What does each of you bring to Morning Factory?

Joep is more the technical guy and makes the first sketches and we take it from there. JP gives the input to compliment the production process. From there we work on the tracks until we have a piece of music that we feel comfortable with, as we agreed not to release music which is not up to our own satisfaction.

Morning Factory is by all accounts a reference to the Ron Trent/Chez Damier track of the same name. How did that end up as the name for your project?

In our opinion Ron and Chez are among those few who truly can call themselves legends. Simply because they created honest and original music, not a style, not a genre, no hypes, no trends. You still feel that today. Their track “Morning Factory” was and still is a firm favorite of ours; that is why we choose the name. Mind, we don’t compare ourselves with Ron and Chez, neither do we want to copy their sound, which would be impossible anyway. What we do is follow our heart, try to aim for the best we can possibly be, listen, learn, love and enjoy all this great music which is still around, old and new.

Earlier this year you posted a photo of your studio which was quite crowded with gear. With all that gear and only two years of releases, how long have you been producing?

Oh yes, that one! Haha, we have to be honest here, it’s not ours! Both the picture and the gear belong to Jean-Michel Jarre (another legend). Our studio is not like that. We use software technology which can be at your fingertips nowadays as a substitute to all that great vintage equipment, which we still love.

How much sampling do you guys do?

Every now and than we sample some things out of old records, not too much though.

How did you first get connected with Yore and 20:20 Vision? What about Clone?

Yore began by sending a friendly e-mail through Myspace to Gerd Janson from Running Back, which is a favorite label of ours. He almost immediately responded and said there wasn’t any room for us at RB (as we expected) but that we should try Yore. So we did, rest is history.

20:20 Vision is a label we started to follow from day one. We did send them some tracks after we noticed Ralph Lawson charted our first EP (Forgotten Moments on Yore). Ralph Lawson and Andy Whittaker personally replied within 24 hours. Together we compiled the Dazin’ EP, a double pack. Ralph and the whole 20:20/FINA crew are great people, they don’t push us or tell us what to do. Music-wise we are free to do what we feel. Hope we can give them some fresh music soon.

Serge from Clone, a man we didn’t knew in person but respected deeply for his Clone achievements, sent us an e-mail to congratulate us on the aforementionedDazin’ EP. We were quite surprised as we never dared to send our music to Clone, thinking it wasn’t good enough for the label quality-wise. So when we had some new tracks we were bold and just sent them to Serge and that’s how the edit for Reggie Dokes’ “Once Again” and Fantasy Check on Clone/Royal Oak came about. It speaks for itself that we are very proud to be a little part of that big Clone history. We would love to stick around Clone.

The Dutch house/techno scene of which you are a part has been particularly strong over the last few years. Why do you think it’s been fertile ground for so much good dance music? What are your favorite parts of the scene?

True, the Dutch house/techno scene seems to be blossoming. In a way it always has, from the late 80s up to now, but not always in a true and cutting edge way. It was either very clubby or gabber, nothing in-between. Now people take notice of producers who have been ignored for many years. However, as strange as it may sound, we don’t consider us a part of this so this called Dutch scene. We both live in a small town all the way down the south of Holland, tucked in between Belgium and German borders, which are both literally a 10-minute car drive from our homes. Of course we did and still follow what is happening “up there.” Clone, Rush Hour and Delsin are true innovators, but when it comes to influences we have say that they came and for the bigger part still come from Germany, Belgium, France and the UK rather than Holland. Besides that, foreign countries were picking us up from almost scratch and up. Until now, Serge was the only one in Holland who was giving us faith and props.

Who are some some of your production contemporaries you admire and why?

Always tricky to namedrop because you always forget the ones who deserve a big shout out, respect and love too. In Holland we really dig I-F, Duplex, Newworldaquarium, Alden Tyrell, Conforce, Delta Funktionen, Gerd, Tom Trago and Dexter. Outside our country the list is almost endless: Cosmin TRG, Lone, Kassem Mosse, Jacob Korn, Omar-S, Benjamin Brunn, Vakula, Ripperton, Gavin Russom, Space Diminsion Controller, Wbeeza, Actress, Linkwood, Untold…

What is the best advice you’ve received with regards to making music? What advice of your would you give to up-and-coming producers?

Simply that there are no rules in making music, just do as you feel like, make mistakes and don’t be scared making them. Music was never meant to be perfect or sound like this or that. Go with whatever happens in making a track — it’s a small journey, enjoy it! When you are too focused on a certain sound or goal on what the track should sound like you can miss all the nice and spontaneous things that happen in a production process. We noticed all the times that we want to create a smooth track it can turn out raw and nasty. So, we just go with the flow and things can just fall into place. We try to keep an open mind about the whole process.

What’s coming up from you two over the next 12 months?

We just finished a remix for Gerd’s 4 Lux label and really looking forward to continue our work with Clone/Royal Oak. The rest is open and we’ll see what the future has in store, no master plan here.

When you’re away from the gear and turntables, what do you do for fun?

We love to cook and eat, catch some movies with a preference for the lesser known and more obscure, read a good book, wine tasting (not connoisseurs though), going on a bike ride or a run in the hilly countryside, architecture, and browsing Discogs :)